PREDATOR EXPOSED

MAGICAL FIND

A hole had been cut in the fence near to the building, which enabled the shooter to watch Mr Palmer.
DCI Jennings said he did not believe he was shot through this hole.

He said: “We believe it was very much a contract style killing. It potentially may well have been a well financed operation.

“It was very much a professional killing that could have taken weeks, if not months of planning before it took place.”

He said: “We believe the shooter was watching Mr Palmer burn paperwork and at the right time jumped over the fence, which we know from scuff marks, and shot Mr Palmer at various places in the body six times.

“(After being shot) he has stumbled back towards the house.”

Mr Palmer got no more than 15 metres before he collapsed and died, the inquest heard.

On the day before his death he has been out with his son before returning to the “remote” farmhouse, which had three acres of land.

No one has been charged with Mr Palmer’s murder.

After his death, it was revealed Palmer had been under surveillance since 2007, due to his links with the criminal underworld.

Earlier this year a £50,000 reward was offered to help catch Palmer’s killer.

The case featured on BBC One’s Crimewatch, but the gunman has not been caught.

The two officers who initially attended the scene have also been disciplined.